This book is the product of a research project titled “International competitiveness of Polish companies in the periods of prosperity and the global economic crisis” (no. UMO-2012/07/B/ HS4/03050), funded by a grant from Poland’s National Science Centre. The main reason for exploring this research matter was to contribute to the debate over the impact of the global economic crisis on companies’ international competitiveness, especially in Poland, which is often perceived as a country that dealt with the recent global economic crisis relatively effectively.

The authors identified and interpreted the dependencies which emerged between the crisis phenomenon observed in the global economy and Polish companies’ behaviour. They focused on the relationship between Polish companies’ international competitive position and its endo- genous and exogenous determinants in the periods of the global economic crisis, the emergence of its consequences, a relative prosperity and a subsequent economic downturn in Poland. In the study carried out, considerable efforts were made to ensure the interdisciplinary nature of analysis, to conduct a multi-level analysis, and to employ to the largest possible extent a dynamic approach. The study involved conducting both literature and empirical research. Primary empirical research using the CATI method involved over seven hundred Polish companies representing manufacturing industries, among which the authors identified the industries that were affected by the economic crisis the most and the least.

The fact that other companies’ or economies’ strategies of dealing with the crisis cannot simply be copied is a motivation for consciously developing crisis management strategies, and even before that, for creating scenarios that take into account possible macroeconomic turbulence in particular markets. Companies’ reflection on possible scenarios for the development of the macroeconomic situation in various markets should be accompanied by an examination of the mechanisms, causes, manifestations, and effects of potential crises in industries where the companies operate. These are the challenges faced by companies that intend to consciously formulate their own competitive and internationalisation strategies.

3.1. An industry – a delimitation of the concept
3.2. An industry crisis – a conceptualisation attempt
3.2.1. An industry crisis as a disruption in an industry’s life cycle
3.2.1.1. The causes of crises limited to a specific industry – disruptions in the industry life cycle
3.2.1.2. Manifestations of crises restricted to a specific industry
3.2.2. Speculative bubbles – from an industry crisis to an economic crisis
3.2.2.1. The causes of speculative bubbles
3.2.2.2. The mechanism and manifestations of a speculative bubble
3.2.2.3. Speculative bubbles – a historical approach
3.3. Inter-industry effects – links with the crisis contagion effect – results of selected studies
3.4. Types of industry crises
Recapitulation

6.1. Methods of the linear ordering of objects
6.2. The construction of a synthetic indicator for economy rankings
6.3. A ranking of economies
6.4. The construction of a synthetic indicator for industry rankings
6.5. A ranking of industries
Recapitulation

8.1. The research problem and a justification for choosing the topic
8.2. Research hypotheses
8.2.1. The determinants of a company’s international competitive position
8.2.2. A comparison between the periods of prosperity and the global economic crisis
8.3. The research sample and research tools
Recapitulation

Chapter 9. The competitive position of companies during and after the global economic crisis – the results of quantitative research
Marlena Dzikowska, Marian Gorynia, Barbara Jankowska

9.1. A description of the research sample
9.2. Indicators of the analysed companies’ competitive position
9.3. Indicators of the analysed companies’ input competitiveness
9.4. The companies’ internationalisation level
9.5. The external determinants of the companies’ operations
9.6. Internal determinants of the analysed companies’ actions
9.7. The competitive position of companies during and after the global economic crisis – a multiple regression model
Recapitulation

10.1. The impact of the crisis on the activity of a services-industry company – the case of F-Secure
10.1.1. The industry’s situation in Poland
10.1.2. The internationalisation of the company’s activity
10.1.3. The external environment in the company’s functioning
10.1.4. The impact of the global economic crisis on the company’s activity
10.2. The impact of the crisis on the activity of a retail-industry company – the case of CDRL S.A.
10.2.1. The situation of the clothing industry during the crisis
10.2.2. The internationalisation of CDRL S.A.’s activity
10.2.3. The external environment and CDRL S.A.’s operation during the crisis

Recapitulation

Conclusion

List of tables and figures

Bibliography

Marian Gorynia

http://www.mariangorynia.pl/

Barbara Jankowska

Ph.D. is Associate Professor at the Poznan University of Economics, Faculty of International Business and Economics, Department of International Competitiveness and Chair of the Program Council at Poznan-Atlanta MBA Program. Her main research areas include international business (international competitiveness of firms and industries, strategy of the firm in international business, foreign direct investment), strategic management, industrial organization and business clustering. She got her PhD degree in international business in 2003 and habilitation in 2013. She is the author or co-author of more than 100 publications, among them six books in her area of expertise. She has participated in several national and international research and consultancy projects on the international competitiveness of enterprises in the context of European integration and economic crisis, strategies of local firms towards foreign investors, business clusters and their significance for the international competitiveness, innovativeness and internationalization of firms and outward foreign direct investment.